1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of cleaning and polishing floors and to a composition for use in that method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to employ self-polishing floor polish compositions comprising an aqueous dispersion of a film-forming water-insoluble emulsion copolymer, together with a small amount of a resin which can be solubilized in water by the use of an alkali, such as ammonia. The resin acts as a binder for the copolymer material when a film of the floor polish composition is applied to a floor and dried. These compositions also contain various additive materials such as solvents, plasticizers, leveling agents and the like. Films of these compositions can be stripped from floors by using a stripping solution containing the alkali which resolubilizes the resin to cause break-up of the film.
The prior floor polish compositions of this type are intended for only one application to floors and they are discarded after they are stripped from the floors. Although this is not a serious economic disadvantage for household uses, the cost of floor polish compositions is a significant expense for commercial floor cleaning and polishing service organizations, because such organizations treat large floor areas at frequent intervals so that the cost of expendible supplies is a substantial proportion of the total floor care expense.
Heretofore it has been considered to be necessary to discard dirty floor polish compositions stripped from floors because they are heavily contaminated with soil and bacteria and they are not suitable for reuse.